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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to consider ways that things might be

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Speaker 1: reused rather than creating more garbage or even putting something

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Speaker 1: in the recycling bin. Many of us are well versed

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Speaker 1: with the phrase reduce, reuse, recycle. These three rs are

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Speaker 1: about making environmentally responsible choices. But, as I've been learning

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Speaker 1: from Adam Mentor's books Junkyard Planet and second Hand, recycling

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Speaker 1: uses a lot of energy and in many cases processes

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Speaker 1: that use potentially harmful substances. Recycling is better than using

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Speaker 1: new materials, for sure, but it is not a costless enterprise.

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Speaker 1: Reusing something, on the other hand, can be a more

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Speaker 1: purely green solution. Any time we extend something's useful life,

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Speaker 1: we're being more gentle on the planet and probably on

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Speaker 1: our wallets, and by extension, with our schedules too. So

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Speaker 1: how do we get in the habit of reusing stuff? First,

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Speaker 1: if you are buying new stuff, buy it with an

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Speaker 1: eye toward a long life. Certain brands are known for

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Speaker 1: better quality. Don't buy a shirt that you know will

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Speaker 1: fall apart on the second wash. Look for furniture that

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Speaker 1: is well constructed. Second, learn how to repair. Can you

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Speaker 1: sew a button back on men to seem a lot

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Speaker 1: of spots can be removed with prompt treatment, Seats can

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Speaker 1: be recovered, and furniture can be sanded down and restained

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Speaker 1: or painted. If the repair is beyond your capability, like

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Speaker 1: shoe resoling or perhaps with electronics, paying for a pro

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Speaker 1: may still be less than the cost of a new,

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Speaker 1: high quality replacement. Third, if you are done with something,

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Speaker 1: look for a way to give it a new home.

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Speaker 1: While donating good places like Goodwill is great and I

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Speaker 1: try to do that whenever possible, you are still counting

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Speaker 1: on the right person coming into a thrift store and

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Speaker 1: finding your cast offs. You could help with efficiency a

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Speaker 1: bit by joining a buy nothing community on Facebook and

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Speaker 1: giving your good condition old items to specific people who

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Speaker 1: want those specific goods. If your old goods are in

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Speaker 1: really good condition, you might be able to sell them

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Speaker 1: in secondhand marketplaces. You might also commit to buying secondhand

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Speaker 1: or asking for items from people whenever possible, rather than

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Speaker 1: buying new. I have a great, nearly new stroller and

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Speaker 1: high chair thanks to other people's generosity. The world has

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Speaker 1: a lot of stuff in it. An interesting chair that

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Speaker 1: you take from a neighbor who's moving can create a

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Speaker 1: vignette in your foyer as well as a new one,

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Speaker 1: and it costs nothing. Finally, look for creative ways to

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Speaker 1: reuse items in your own home. My daughter had me

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Speaker 1: cut up a plastic water bottle the other day so

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Speaker 1: she could turn it into a doll bed. Any piece

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Speaker 1: of paper can be used more than once. Mailing envelopes

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Speaker 1: and boxes can be reused with a little work. With

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Speaker 1: five kids in my family, we shop in the hand

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Speaker 1: me down closet before we shop in the store. It's

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Speaker 1: been really fun to see my baby wear the same

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Speaker 1: shirts that my teenager were many years ago. When you

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Speaker 1: don't have to spend your time earning money to buy stuff,

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Speaker 1: you can free up a lot of capacity in your life.

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Speaker 1: And yes, sometimes new items are necessary and fun, but

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Speaker 1: more stuff can be reused than you might imagine. Tinfoil

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Speaker 1: zip block bags if you wash them out well, grocery bags.

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Speaker 1: Just make a game of seeing how long you can

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Speaker 1: keep something out of the landfill, how many times can

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Speaker 1: it be used? That can be more satisfying than you

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Speaker 1: might think. In the meantime. This is Laura thanks for listening,

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Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,

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Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.

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Speaker 1: That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. M